This past week we received some very good news.  Connecticut Housing Finance Authority announced that private sector employers would no longer have to contribute any funds to the home purchase transaction of their employees if they wanted to take advantage of the CHFA Urban Rehabilitation Mortgage Program.  Up until this past week, if an employee wanted to use the CHFA UR program they had to receive a financial contribution of anywhere from $500.00 -$2,500.00 from their employer.  In some cases the employer would not agree to do this, thus precluding the employee from taking advantage of the UR program.

CHFA-UR provides a grant of up to $20,000.00 for rehab./renovation work on a one family home and up to $25,000.00 on a 2-4 family home.  Eligible borrowers have to work full time in the city and purchase in the same city.  Eligible cities include New London, Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven and certain areas of Windham.

I expect this change will generate more home sales in the eligible communities.

Since 1980, Phil Turner has helped over 10,000 clients achieve the dream of homeownership. If you are planning to buy a home, please contact Phil.  You'll find his professional service and years of experience exactly what you need in Eastern Connecticut's current housing market.

Phil can be reached at McCue Mortgage, located at 8 Union Street in New London, by calling (860)444-0650 or (800)781-1180 or By EMAIL.

1. FHA announced on Wednesday they will require 10% down payment (Max LTV 90%) for borrowers with FICO scores less than 580. I do not expect this to impact the FHA mortgage loans that I originate. Very few people have been able to get approved with FICO scores less than 580.

2. FHA is increasing the Upfront MIP from 1.75 to 2.25 effective for case numbers issued from 4/1/2010 forward.  This sounds ominous but if a borrower is financing $200,000.00, the Upfront MIP will increase $1,000.00 from $3,500.00 to $4.500.00.  Most FHA borrowers finance the Upfront MIP.  This will increase their monthly payment by $5.35 per month if they are borrowing the money at 5% for 30 years.

3. FHA did implement a waiver on Jan 15 for 1 year starting on 2/1/2010 lifting the 90 day rule.  This means properties that transferred within 90 days of the sales contract will be eligible for FHA insurance with certain criteria.   As more information becomes available regarding the certain criteria, I will share it with you.

Since 1980, Phil Turner has helped over 10,000 clients achieve the dream of homeownership. If you are planning to buy a home, please contact Phil.  You'll find his professional service and years of experience exactly what you need in Eastern Connecticut's current housing market.

Phil can be reached at McCue Mortgage, located at 8 Union Street in New London, by calling (860)444-0650 or (800)781-1180 or By EMAIL.

There was some good news this past week.  For the last year and a half, the mortgage insurance companies who insure conventional loans in the state of Connecticut have required 10% down if the appraisers stated that the real estate market was in decline. Typically conventional loans were available with 3 - 5% down.

Genworth (GE Mortgage Insurance) has informed us that they will now start accepting 3 -5% down.  This is great news.  It means that Genworth feels that the Connecticut market is stabilizing and for homebuyers who couldn't qualify for FHA (3.5% down) or VA (no money down) this now allows them to buy a home with 3 -5 % down.

On a $300,000.00 purchase price, 10% down was $30,000.00.  3% down is $9,000.00 and 5% down is $15,000.00.  This positive change from Genworth will open up the market to qualified homebuyers who may not have had the means to come up with 10% down.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of more positive news for the real estate market.

Since 1980, Phil Turner has helped over 10,000 clients achieve the dream of homeownership. If you are planning to buy a home, please contact Phil.  You'll find his professional service and years of experience exactly what you need in Eastern Connecticut's current housing market.

Phil can be reached at McCue Mortgage, located at 8 Union Street in New London, by calling (860)444-0650 or (800)781-1180 or By EMAIL.

Ok, so it’s not Monday.  I’ll fess up, I totally forgot to post this.  So here it is:  Mortgage Monday on Thursday nite.  Sorry Phil.

The days are flying by. The federal tax credit of up to $8,000.00 for first time home buyers and up to $6,500.00 for previous homeowners has 110 days to go before it expires.  Real estate purchase and sales agreements have to be signed by April 30, 2010 and the closings need to take place by June 30, 2010.

There are many mortgage finance options open to home buyers interested in taking advantage of the tax credits.  The most popular mortgage program currently is the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority  mortgage loan.  CHFA is available primarily to first time buyers (someone who has not owned a home within the last three years).  The current rate is 4.5% with 1 point for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  In addition to CHFA, the State of CT offers the DAP (Downpayment Assistance Program) to provide closing costs and down payment monies for home buyers who have less than $5,000.00 available to them.  The combination of these two programs allows for 100% financing with loans guaranteed or insured by FHA, VA or RD

(Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration, Rural Development).

These loans are carefully underwritten in order to make sure that the home buyer does not get in over their head financially.  Also, all three agencies providing insurance or guarantees for CHFA also provide loss mitigation tools.   These loss mitigation tools help homebuyers who may have problems with their payments due to job loss, death in the family or divorce.

With 110 days to go until April 30th, now is the time to begin your home search.

I hope to see you soon.

Since 1980, Phil Turner has helped over 10,000 clients achieve the dream of homeownership. If you are planning to buy a home, please contact Phil.  You'll find his professional service and years of experience exactly what you need in Eastern Connecticut's current housing market.

Phil can be reached at McCue Mortgage, located at 8 Union Street in New London, by calling (860)444-0650 or (800)781-1180 or By EMAIL.